RESIDENTS of a London street split in half by the anti-car Ulez expansion have slammed “unfair” Sadiq Khan over his botched scrappage scheme.
Folk in South East London have seen their road sliced down the broken white line with the Borough of Bexley on one side and Dartford, Kent, on the other.
Anti-Ulez campaigners have led marches against the low emissions scheme for monthsRex
ReutersSadiq Khan has faced fury over the scheme but has doubled down on the plans[/caption]
Those on the Bexley side – inside Greater London’s boundaries – are eligible to claim as much as £7,000 for a van and £2,000 for a car if they scrap their Ulez non-compliant vehicle.
But residents on the other side, just yards away from the Ulez expansion zone – coming into force on August 29 – cannot claim anything.
It means they will be forced to stump up for a new car without financial support or pay £12.50 a day to drive to work or school.
Local Helen Holland slammed the mayor, telling BBC London: “I think he’s being unfair on anyone who can’t afford to replace their vehicle.
“If your child goes to school there and your car doesn’t comply, it’s going to cost you a fortune to take them to school.”
Diesel van owner and anti-Ulez campaigner Ian Balm, 47, said: “It’s not on.
“Even if you got the £7,000 scrappage scheme, it’s at least, at minimum, £15,000 for a new van.
“I can’t afford that. I’m self-employed.”
So far, 1,775 ULEZ cameras have been installed across the capital, out of a total planned 2,750.
The scheme is expected to cost £140 million of taxpayers’ money.
Bexley was one of five Tory-led councils which alongside Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon, and Surrey, launched a doomed legal challenge against the Ulez expansion last month.
But the scale of backlash against his plans meant Labour mayor Khan was pushed into a humiliating part-surrender – offering any car driver £2,000 to scrap their non-compliant vehicles.
Khan, 52, has previously called on Kent and other home counties to introduce their own scrappage plans to cushion the Ulez blow for hundreds of thousands of commuters who drive to and from London.
The mayor said of Bexley’s legal challenge: “One of the things I’m disappointed by is rather than their council supporting them with the scrappage scheme and lobbying the government, they would rather spend money on court fees and lawyers.”
But Dartford’s Tory MP Gareth Johnson said: “Even at this late hour we’re asking the mayor of London to think again.
“He doesn’t need to do this. There are better ways of raising finance.
“I don’t see why the taxpayer should have to pick up the bill for Sadiq Khan’s mismanagement of his own finances.”
AlamyThousands of cameras across London will snare motorists who don’t meet Ulez requirements[/caption]
AlamyThe scheme comes into force across all London boroughs on August 29[/caption] Read More